Holy Trinity Cathedral Young Adults Attend CrossRoad 2.0 – March 26-30, 2025
Holy Trinity Cathedral Young Adults Attend CrossRoad 2.0 | March 26-30, 2025 | Pompano Beach, FL
Priest Andrew Smith (Holy Trinity Cathedral, San Francisco, CA) and four young adults from the broader cathedral community recently participated in the second annual CrossRoad 2.0 young adult conference in Pompano Beach, FL. They ranged from priest-kid (“PK”) Michael Gaudreau, to local OCF ringleader (Andrew Mujikov, University of San Francisco), to catechumen (Angelo Zhao), to church camp assistant director (Calista Pettit).
Many are familiar with CrossRoad Institute and its 10-day summer program for high school juniors and seniors. After 20+ years of serving youth, the institute’s leadership has begun expansion to influence 21-35 year olds in the Church.
Meeting at the Tru by Hilton Hotel across the street from the Pompano Beach Pier, our cohort joined about 85 other young adults from across the United States and Canada, representing not just the Orthodox Church in America, but also the Greek Archdiocese, Antiochian Archdiocese, and Carpatho-Russian Diocese of North America.
Telos Project Director Anna Kallis opened the five-day event with a reflection on vocation, showing how it is a question not of “what am I?” but rather “who am I?”
Each full day began with communal morning prayers led by a different priest, followed by time for breakfast, a morning walk, or a swim at the beach. Participants attended two morning academic lectures from a scriptural and then a dogmatic theological perspective, featuring Dr. Peter Bouteneff, Professor of Systematic Theology, and Dr. Michael Legaspi, professor of Old Testament, both at St. Vladimir Orthodox Theological Seminary, as keynote speakers. Participants engaged in small breakout discussion groups after each talk to reflect upon and digest the material.
On Thursday afternoon, CrossRoad Institute Executive Director Dr. Ann Mitsakos-Bezzerides elaborated on the previous day’s vocation talk by exploring the idea of finding one’s telos, or purpose. If vocation answers the question “who am I?”, telos answers the question “where am I going?”
Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston Mr. Panos Coufos gave a Friday afternoon talk on being a good steward of one’s time and money.
On Saturday, the group heard two talks on loving one’s neighbor. The first, given by Spyridoula Fotinis, Director of Inter-Parish Associations for the Assembly of Bishops of the United States of America, focused on ministering to the homeless, whether at the individual or parish level. The second talk of that day was given by the director of the Family Wellness Ministry of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco and Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School for Family Therapy at Santa Clara University George Papageorge, LMFT. Mr. Papageorge gave a powerful talk on the negative effect of dysfunctional family dynamics on romantic relationships.
The group reconvened each afternoon to visit a local parish for a service and a meal. St. Mark Church in Boca Raton (GOA) hosted the group for Presanctified Liturgy on Thursday and Sunday Divine Liturgy. St. Philip Church in Davie (AOCANA) hosted the group with the Akathist to the Mother of God on Friday. On Saturday, everyone traveled to St. Herman of Alaska Church in Lake Worth (OCA) for Great Vespers.
Many thanks to the CrossRoad Institute for extending an invitation for the second year in a row. All four participants were grateful for the unique experiences, acquaintances, and takeaways they each received during this time of retreat, reflection, and intense introspection.
Photo Gallery (Credit to Mr. Alex Reed):
Below, please find links to Flickr albums for the event:
Day 1: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC6WkL
Day 2: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC71n2
Day 3: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC7afj
Day 4: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC7sEf
Day 5: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC7nfu
